deanshark

I'm looking for the best, most reputable, place to get a rebuilt ECU for my 93 LS400. (plug and play) I don't want to get one from the junkyard and have that one rebuilt cuz as we all know, ya never know the condition of junkyard parts. The car I bought last year had a bad skip in it which I thought was just regular tune- up parts, but no. I changed plugs, wires, caps, rotors, T-belt/WP, (all original) and other parts. I worked on it winter and spring. It took that long cuz of personal, physical, and financial reasons. Anyway, after all the work I did it still has the same skip and now after driving it for a month or so I can feel it has all the regular ECU problems. No communication for the CEL, weird shifting, no power, no A/C and more. It has a rebuilt ECU but done back in 2013. I opened it up and the board doesn't look too good to me. Really nasty solder job and it looks like even the new caps were leaking. They are all bent down sideways instead of standing straight up.....Real crappy job. (sticker on it says "Ebay")
With the car only having 85K miles, I'd like it to drive and feel like it only has that many.
I appreciate any suggestions were I can get a rebuilt ECU, thanks.

CLLEXUSS

Well deanshark you are usually the go to guy. We all like a rounded point of view at some point with differing opinions. The best, and most reputable.. Well, if even you don't know for sure, it's probably going to be a tough question to answer lol. For me it's just hard to want to pay that much for something you know generally speaking with a decent board only costs like 15 dollars in parts to repair it. I'd be tempted just to try and find something cheap, but you know is clean. Not sure if that's practical or not though.

deanshark

Thank you but there are some things I'm just not quite sure about, especially all the electronics on this car. I agree with you about the $15 in parts but not having the tools, and the skills anymore, to fix the ECU myself I'm stuck paying out the crazy amount it's gonna cost to have it done. I trust the opinion of people on this forum more then just the reviews on a company's website. I was thinking last night, I could check the pick & pull junkyards around here so I can open up the ECU while I'm in the yard so I know what I'm getting. But then I still have the problem of "who do I send it to to get it rebuilt?" After seeing the inside of the one I have that was rebuilt I would like to know where people here have sent theirs out and had it done right.

paulo57509

Your thinking on how to find a rebuildable core is spot on. ECU's with leaking capacitors is a crap shoot because of the multi-layered PCB and hidden board damage.

Finding a rebuilder is another issue. The only business that I have any experience with is Circuit Board Medics (https://circuitboardmedics.com/). They did a rebuild job for me but it was for a Whirlpool oven control board. However, they did a great job and tech support was responsive and helpful.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

hi dean. @LScowboyLS would be my go-to guy but he hasn't logged in in since 2014. hope he is doing ok!

next would be to try tanin auto electronic who is a CL vendor sponsor here.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/mem...taninauto.html

deanshark

Thanks timmy, I've noticed that cowboy hasn't been around for a while, I thought something happened in the past to keep him away.
As for taninauto, I checked their website and hit the link for rebuild ECU and it says "the following product is no longer available" and they don't have any plug & play for 93 LS.
Still looking around and thinking of which way to go. At least I can still drive it.......for now anyway.

bradland

SIA Electronics is another option.
Several guys on the 430 side have used them for a rough 2 to 1 downshift issue and reported positive results.
https://siaelec.com/product/lexus-ls...repair-return/

TaninAuto

Hey Dean,

Thank you for bringing the broken link to our attention. We will be sure to fix that right away.
As for your ECU problem please send us a message @ contact@taninauto.com and I will see what I can do for you.

Please let me know if you have any other questions, comments, or concerns and I will be happy to address them.

Thank you,
Tanin Auto Eletronix

deanshark

Still thinking which way I'm gonna go. Time isn't really a factor so I can procrastinate a bit on this. I have been looking at alot of rebuilt, plug & play ECUs and the different part #s on them.
The one I have in the car is 89661-50141. Now, I have a question about the #s. Some that I've seen are 89661-50141-84. The ones with the 84 at the end have a new sticker on it and says "remanufactured for Toyota". Is it safe to assume that these were rebuilt by Denso?
I'd like to go with a Denso reman ECU cuz in another thread, our main man Yamae said, "I must say that the only fully reliable rebuilder is Denso. It is the only company that has circuit diagrams and the full testing equipments."
I'm even willing to spend a bit more for piece of mind. This way at least I'd know it's the right caps and the main board is good, not like the junk I have in the car now that's been, so called, rebuilt.

paulo57509

Maybe best best would be to check with a Lexus dealership.

The -84 part number is in my go-to Lexus of Roseville (CA) dealership's online parts order site. A phone call would be necessary for confirmation but I doubt that a Lexus dealership would have a non-Denso remanufactured ECU in it's supply chain.

https://parts.lexusofroseville.com/p...-50141-84.html

Yes, I know of dealerships that will send a runner to an Auto-Zone for a non-stocked item like an odd-ball oil filter, but something like an ECU, even as a special order item, surely would come from the internal supply chain.

deanshark

Update: I ended up buying a "used" Denso remanufactured ECU in working order. The price was right and, with my financial situation right now, the only feasible way to go. It didn't fix all my problems but the shifting problem is gone and it has communication now.
I still have the skip and low idle which I thought were gonna go away but it must be something different causing that. (I'll start a different thread on that) I also thought it was the cause of my AC not working cuz when I bought the car the AC worked great. But after it sitting for 6 months while I fixed other things, the AC stopped working. I did find out the compressor does kick on and instantly off, so the ECU is telling it to work. (another problem)
Just wanted to update incase anyone was interested.

CELSI0R

If the AC compressor is kicking on and then off immediately, it may be the computer telling it to shut off due to low pressure.

I would think it's more likely that there is a leak in your system and that the refrigerant has leaked out. You need to have the pressures checked to see if there is anything left in there

deanshark

Thanks CELSI0R,
This is what I was thinking about the AC after reading pages and pages of info on this crazy thing called the internet.
It was working when I bought the car and before I started doing all the engine work. The only thing AC related that I touched was I pulled the cabin filter, and while doing the timing belt I only took the front bolt and nut off the compressor, I left the back bolt in and never unhooked the plug. So, the compressor wasn't even moved an inch. But if there's a leak, the guy probably filled it the day I bought it.
oops, I just remembered. There's a small round plug on the front of the compressor which I did unplug, (don't know what it's for) but I know I put it back on.

I'm more interested in why it has the low idle and skip, (or hiccup) and no take off power. (torque)

Margate330

Yeah, need to get some gauges on it to see what's going on.
Can get a set of decent gauges for $100-$150 and that's less than just one trip to a shop to top off the refrigerant.

Gauges are a must have for DIY AC work, you won't regret.